Otaku Highlight: Porter Robinson!

Today is the day that we, over here at OtakukArt networks, finally premiere a new original segment entitled, “Otaku Highlights”. Now I know most of us know what “Otaku” actually stands for but just for those who aren’t in the “know”, “Otaku” (おたく/オタク) is a Japanese term for people with obsessive interests, especially those the anime and manga fandom. The purpose of this segment is to highlight those in the anime and manga fandom with exceptional talents and skills that were inspired by the Otaku culture. So, Who better to break this ice than, Electronic music’s boy wonder, Porter Robinson!

Porter Robinson (born July 15, 1992) is an American DJ, record producer and musician from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Porter began producing at the age of 12, achieving international notice by the time he was 18 with his critically acclaimed release “Language“. His early influences include video gaming music, in particular, Dance Dance Revolution. He is a huge fan of anime and Japanese culture, and incorporates these elements heavily into his music.

This brings us to his most recent body of work, His debut album, Worlds, was released on August 12, 2014. This project, in particular, leaned heavily on his inspirations from anime and gaming. He noted that most of the album was inspired by his love for MMO’s(Massive MultiPlayer Online). “Worlds” was incredibly successful in the sense that it redefined what it meant for Porter Robinson to compose Electronic music, his focus was to make sure that he stayed true to himself and what he felt electronic music should be.

Porter’s most recent collaborative project “Shelter” further explored this theme entirely. On August 11, 2016, Robinson released a collaboration with fellow musician and friend Madeon titled “Shelter”. Porter’s project “Shelter” would be, in my opinion, his most defining “Otaku” highlight to date! Although, this isn’t his first time collaborating on a Otaku-esque project like this. On December 17, 2012, a single with Mat Zo entitled “Easy” was pre-released exclusively on Beatport by Ministry of Sound, and spent two entire weeks as the #1 overall song on the Beatport Top 100 chart(which is the equivalent to the billboard’s charts for the Dance Music Industry) and was accompanied by an amazingly animated music video. However “Shelter” was on another level entirely!

Porter’s “Shelter” was much more than just a collaboration between two musicians, for this short-film, Robinson sought to also enlist the creative talents of A-1 Pictures. A-1 Pictures is responsible for so many high production anime like: Fairy Tail, Black Butler, Blue Exorcist, and most notably the SAO(Sword Art Online)series. I’m sure you can only imagine what it must have felt like for Porter to be able to have A-1 Pictures bring his short-film to life! “Shelter” is, first, visually stunning! It has that SAO feel to it but more intimate to accompany the beautifully composed track, that now serves as a score for the story the short-films flawlessly conveys. There isn’t too much more I can add to that, that will enhance your experience of the video, you’ll have to watch it for yourself!

What started as demeaning term for “nerds” has transformed into a powerful and progressive culture of being an Otaku, that has impacted people all over the world! It’s artist like Porter Robinson and animation studios like A-1 Pictures that continue to foster and build upon this foundation that we have all come to love that makes it worth the time to bring it to the public’s attention. It’s only right that we acknowledge the effort from those seeking to use their talents to expand and contribute to this culture of ours. For that reason alone, we will continue to support and Highlight those who identify as Otaku!